fiction.wikisort.org - Movie

Next Sohee (Korean: 다음 소희; RR: Daeum sohee) is a 2022 South Korean drama film, directed by Jung Ju-ri and starring Bae Doona, Kim Si-eun and Kim Woo-kyum. This film is loosely inspired by the real-life suicide of a girl on a similar 'externship' program,[1] revolves around a high school student, Sohee (Kim Si-eun), who has to go on field training to her call center, and a female detective, Yu-jin, who doubts this. It was selected as first Korean closing film at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in 'International Critics' Week' section for special screening.[2]

Next Sohee
International poster
Hangul	다음 소희
Revised Romanization	Daeum sohee
Directed by	Jung Ju-ri
Written by	Jung Ju-ri
Produced by	Kim Dong-ha Kim Ji-yeon
Starring	Bae Doona Kim Si-eun Kim Woo-kyum
Cinematography	Kim Il-yeon
Edited by	Lee Young-lim Han Ji-youn
Music by	Jang Young-gyu
Production companies	Twinplus-Partners Co. Ltd. Crank-Up Film Co. Ltd
Distributed by	Solaire Partners
Release date	May 25, 2022 (2022-05-25) (Cannes)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean

The film was screened on May 25, 2022 at Espace Miramar in Cannes and received 7 minutes standing ovation.[3] It was also screened at the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival as closing film and won Best Director award in Cheval Noir competition category and Best Asian Feature silver award in Audience Award category.

Synopsis

The film is about Sohee (Kim Si-eun), a high school student who starts training for a subcontracted position at a call center. She is unable to bear the stressful work culture. A mysterious incident leads to her death. Detective Oh Yu-jin starts investigation into her death.[4]

Cast

• Bae Doona as Yoo-jin[5]
• Kim Si-eun as Sohee[6]
• Sim Hee-seop as Lee Junho
• Kim Woo-kyum
• Song Yo-sep

Production

In the end of the year 2016 the director Jung saw a story of a high-school girl, sent by her school to work as an intern in a telecommunication company’s call center to gain real-world work experience. But, within three months she committed suicide on her job. The investigation brought the fact to surface that the girl experiencing stressful working conditions in the call center committed suicide. This story became the basis of her film titled Next Sohee.[7]

Next Sohee is director Jung Ju-ri's second film, following the 2014 detective drama A Girl at My Door, which also starred Bae Doona and was invited to the "Un Certain Regard" selection of the 67th Cannes Film Festival.[4]

Principal photography began on January 16, 2022[8] and filming was wrapped up on February 28, 2022.[9]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Parallel sections of Cannes Film Festival in the International Critics' Week on 25 May 2022 at Espace Miramar theater. Subsequently it will be released in South Korea in 2022.[10] It was also invited to the competition section of the Amsterdam Film Festival,[11] and selected as closing film of the 26th Fantasia International Film Festival in Cheval Noir section, where it was screened on August 3, 2022.[12][13] At the festival it won Best Director award in Cheval Noir competition category[14] and Best Asian Feature silver award in Audience Award category.[15] It also made it to 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama' section of 27th Busan International Film Festival and was screened on October 7, 2022.[16]

Reception

The film has received positive reviews from international critics. It received a standing ovation of 7 minutes at the premiere at Cannes Film Festival.[17] Patrick Brzeski of The Hollywood Reporter introduced Next Sohee as "Cannes' hidden gem".[18] Whereas Wendy Ide of Screen Daily found the film "leisurely paced" and appreciated the direction of Jung Ju-ri writing, "Jung’s direction is unshowy but solid, with minimal score and a focus on persuasive performances captured by an empathetic lens.", But Ide criticised her writing, stating, "this has the feel of a screenplay which could have benefited by a sharper focus and a leaner approach to its storytelling."[1] Clarence Tsui of the South China Morning Post gave 4 stars out of 5 praised the performance of Kim Si-eun writing, "Kim puts in a powerful performance as a student crushed by her work at a call centre." He opined that the film could be "delineated into two halves that could be described as the 'personal' and the 'political'". In the second half Bae Doona takes over the story as detective Yoo-jin, where she investigates Sohee’s demise and seeks justice. Concluding his review, Tsui wrote, "Jung has stirred up a stink with a film that’s visceral to the extreme in revealing the dark dealings that make an economy click, and a steep warning about the possibilities of more Sohees to suffer from such indignity and injustice."[19]

Elena Lazic writing for The Playlist criticised the director's approach on handling the film, writing, "the director opts for a less believable and more dramatic blunt-force approach, rather than portray her [Sohee's] experience there as one that slowly comes to affect her mind and priorities until her warped sense of priorities and self-worth leads her to end her life." Lazic grading the film as C concluded, stating, "The film’s attempt at evoking both Sohee and Oh Yoo-jin’s shared humanity feels rather trite, and its overall emotional landscape and its study of exploitation, both are stuck in a rather monotonous sense of indignation and tragedy that ultimately feels frustratingly unproductive".[20] French critics site Le Bleu du Miroir praised the performances of actors and screenplay writing, "Magnificently carried by its two actresses, neat in its writing and in its staging without fuss but always at the service of the story and its characters, Next Sohee asserts itself as an excellent closing choice for Critics' Week and confirms the promises of a filmmaker to follow."[21]

Accolades

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
Fantasia International Film Festival	2022	Cheval Noir Award for Best director	Jung Ju-ri	Won	[22][23]
		Best Asian Feature silver award (Audience Award category)	Next Sohee	Won
Tokyo Filmex		Special Jury Award		Won	[24]

References

External links

• Next Sohee at HanCinema
• Next Sohee at Naver (in Korean)
• Next Sohee at Daum (in Korean)
• Next Sohee at the Korean Movie Database
• Next Sohee at Rotten Tomatoes

---